Renowned portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz snapped the women at locations, including a boat on the River Thames and a country house in Berkshire, wearing dinner dresses, leather jackets, faux furs and stiletto heels from across its new autumn/winter range.

The retail giant, under pressure to stem sliding clothing sales, said it picked the women for their “strong sense of personal style and inspirational achievements”.

Latest figures showed M&S’s general merchandise sales, which include clothing, fell 1.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the 13 weeks to the end of June.